The majority of exercise equipment in use in the United States consists of several different machines to work all major muscle groups in the body. This method of exercise utilizes circuit training principles in which the individual moves from station to station working a different muscle group at each station. Although this form of progressive resistance exercise is fine for able bodied individuals, it is not acceptable to disabled persons in wheel chairs or other physically limited persons.
Exercise machines are known which enable a user to exercise two major muscle groups from a single station. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,505,475, an exercise machine is disclosed having an arm actuating mechanism and a leg actuating mechanism. Both the arm actuated mechanism and leg actuated mechanism are coupled to a weight element for reversibly displacing the weight element. An exercise coupling mechanism is secured to the frame and the weight element in order to couple the arm actuated mechanism for providing a lifting force to the weight element responsive to independent actuation of the leg mechanism or the arm mechanism.